Plates are often used to provide structural integrity to assist with the repair of fractured bone pieces. These plates are typically placed against a surface of the fractured bone, and then screws are used to attach the plate to the pieces of the fractured bone such that the pieces of the fractured bone are arranged in a substantially normal alignment/configuration (e.g., the pieces of the fractured bone are stabilized in positions where the pieces would normally have been before the fracture). It is often the case that tissue (e.g., muscles, etc.) in the vicinity of the bone may be required to be cut to provide access to the bone (e.g., for positioning of the plate against the surface of the bone). For example, and referring to FIG. 10, a diagram illustrating a configuration of bone relative to a muscle is shown. In FIG. 10, various bones of the hand and wrist, a radius bone, and an ulna bone are shown from the volar side. FIG. 10 further illustrates that the pronator quadratus muscle is proximate to the distal end of the radius and ulna bones, and spans portions of both the radius and ulna bones. For fractures of the distal radius bone and/or ulna bone, it is common for the pronator quadratus muscle to be cut to enable a surgeon to place a plate in a desired position along the surface of the distal radius and/or ulna bone prior to inserting screws through the plate to provide fixation for the fractured pieces of the bone.
The cutting of the muscle and other tissue to provide access for placement of the plate may increase the recovery time for the patient, as well as limit the patient's ability to perform actions that require the use of the muscle and/or other tissue that was cut. For example, the pronator quadratus muscle is used to pronate the hand (e.g., turn the hand so that the palm faces downward). If the patient's pronator quadratus muscle is cut to provide access for positioning a plate to provide fixation of a fracture of the distal radius bone, the patient may be unable to, or have limited ability to, pronate his/her hand, and may experience discomfort as well.